It has long been known to construct towing hitches that are mounted to vehicles in order to allow the towing of trailers or the like. In recent years such hitches have been designed to include a receiver box having a rearwardly directed opening or cavity for the receipt of a hitch or draw bar that carries a hitch ball or other means allowing connection to a trailer. Examples of such a structure include the Insta-Hitch II and Custom Hitch Receiver 35365 as manufactured by Reese Products, Inc. of Elkhart, Ind.. Such a hitch receiver is also disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,837 to Reese, owned by Reese Products, Inc., the assignee of the present invention.
It is common practice for operators to remove the hitch bar and ball assembly from the receiver box when the vehicle is not being utilized to tow a trailer. A cap or cover is then positioned in the rearwardly directed opening of the receiver box so as to improve the overall appearance and also prevent dirt from collecting therein. Such covers actually function as plugs that must be removed when it is desired to install the hitch bar and ball assembly for towing.
During installation, individuals often accidently and carelessly strike the face of the receiver box with the end of the hitch bar. Depending upon the force and angle of the contact, the painted finish of the hitch box may be scratched chipped or otherwise damaged. This serves to expose the bare metal to air and moisture. Over time this leads to the formation of rust. Not only is the rust unsightly and ugly but if the receiver box is not refinished, rusting could become so extensive as to eventually lead to unacceptable structural damage.
A need is therefore identified for an approach to limit or prevent damage to the finish of the face of the hitch box thereby extending its service life, reducing maintenance requirements and providing an aesthetically pleasing appearance both when the hitch bar is engaged in and removed from the hitch box.